BPS Photo Competition – “Best of the Year” judging & critiques by Henry Rowan of the PA Center for Photography from among the 91 award winning Class A & B images from the 2020 BPS photo competitions. Eligible winners of this event from Class A & B will be submitted to the International Michael Day Competition in January 2021.
Henry is a national award-winning photographer and the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Center for Photography (PCP) in Doylestown. In addition to being a working, professional photographer, Henry is a frequent lecturer and judge throughout the region and teaches a variety of workshops at the PCP. Henry’s work is frequently on display at galleries and shows and he has gained a following for his distinctive style of portraiture as well as his unique portrayal of manscapes, nature, and sports.
Photographically, Henry’s style is well defined but somewhat difficult to describe. He plays with movement, light, and color in unison to create images that are easy to identify as his. The driving theme of his work is his concept of Non-Existent Imagery:
“The images I create never existed and never will exist. They are combinations of angles, colors, light, time, lenses, sensors, and more, which produce images that the human eye can’t see and the human mind can’t process in real life. Unlike the photojournalist, I am not trying to capture a moment in time, but rather I am hoping to create a feeling in space that conveys the essence of the subject.”
Working within this framework provides a great deal of artistic freedom and fosters a worldview that is both individualistic and offers unlimited creative opportunities. Many of his images are the result of hours of work and are part of his CameraGraph® series, in which post-processing plays a major role to visually construct his “reality”. Regardless of the scene, Henry strives to reveal the essence of his subjects in a manner that is as unique as the subjects themselves.
You may see his work at www.hrowanphotography.com/or contact him at henryrowan.pcp@gmail.com.